Find out how popular the last name Petry is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Petry.

Petry, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Petry surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Petry in America

Petry is the 6178th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Petry surname appeared 5,538 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Petry.

We can also compare 2010 data for Petry to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Petry

The surname Petry originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is likely derived from the German given name Peter, which itself comes from the Greek word "petros" meaning "rock." The name may have initially been a patronymic, indicating "son of Peter."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Petry surname can be found in the parish records of the town of Lübeck, Germany, where a man named Hans Petry was mentioned in 1523. Another early reference is from the town of Hesse, where a certain Johann Petry was listed in tax records from 1587.

The Petry name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. There are also records of the name in the nearby areas of the Netherlands and France, likely due to migration patterns.

An individual of historical note bearing the Petry surname was Johann Georg Petry (1693-1767), a German writer and theologian who authored several works on religious philosophy. Another notable figure was Johann Samuel Petry (1738-1818), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.

In the 19th century, the Petry surname can be found in records from the United States, likely due to immigration from Germany. One such example is Jacob Petry (1802-1887), a German-born American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Other notable individuals with the Petry surname include:

1. Martin Petry (1870-1942), a German Catholic priest and writer.
2. Georg Petry (1879-1970), a German painter and illustrator.
3. Hans Petry (1898-1968), a German World War II general.
4. Eva Petry (1897-1992), an African American writer and author of the novel "The Street."
5. Glen Petry (born 1941), an American politician who served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Petry

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Petry.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Petry was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Petry has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Petry was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Petry, please contact us.

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